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Friday, 25 May, 2012
NEC hauls out development portion from the budget cauldron Approves Rs 873 billion development budget for next fiscal g PSDP of Rs 360 billion g Punjab Rs 206 billion g Sindh Rs 188 billion g KPK Rs 78 billion g Balochistan Rs 41 billion g Foreign assistance estimated at Rs100 billion g
It was informed that no reduction in current year’s PSDP size was made to help restore GDP growth. As such, the National Development Outlays 2011-12 remained at Rs 730 Billion. The proposed PSDP 2012-13 has prepared in line with the growth strategy framework to ensure inclusive growth, reducing poverty, achieving MDGs, minimizing wastages, ensuring balanced development, food, water and energy security. The proposed PSDP 2012-13 also articulates the division of subjects between Provincial and Federal Governments after passage of Constitutional 18th Amendment. While reviewing the Annual Plan 2011-12 and proposed Annual Plan 2012-13, the NEC was informed that the performance of the economy during the current fiscal year was satisfactory. The GDP growth is expected to be 3.7 percent as against 3 percent achieved during the last year.
ISLAMABAD
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STAFF REPORT
HILE agreeing to a GDP growth rate estimate of 4.3 percent for the next fiscal year, the National Economic Council (NEC) on Wednesday approved Rs 873 billion development outlay including a federal Public Sector Development Programme of Rs 360 billion the next fiscal year 2012-13. Prime Minster Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani said the meeting which was attended by the Finance Minister, Governor KPK, Chief Ministers of Sindh, Balochistan and KPK, Prime Minister of AJK and CM Gilgit Baltistan attended the meeting. Punjab Chief Minister skipped the important meeting due to PML-N’s non acceptance of incumbent PM as legitimate after the Supreme Court contempt of court order. Agenda before the council was to review and approve the Annual Plan 2011-12 and 2012-13, review of PSDP 2011-12 and approval of PSDP 2012-13, implementation plan of framework for economic growth and progress report of the schemes approved by CDWP and ECNEC. NEC approved growth targets of 4.3 percent as envisaged in the Annual Plan 2012-13 under the Growth Strategy. The targets will be achieved through improvement in productivity and competitiveness, reforms in the markets, promoting cities as regional clusters, improve connectivity, reforming the civil service, institutions and PSEs, harnessing the potential of youth and embarking on result based management. Investment targets. Inflation during 2012-13 will be further brought down to 9.5 percent. Total national development outlays for the next fiscal year has been proposed at Rs 863 billion, wherein Federal PSDP would amount to Rs. 350 billion. The meeting approved development budget of Punjab at Rs 206 billion, Sindh Rs 188 billion, KPK Rs 78 billion and Balochistan Rs 41 billion. Federal ministries have formulated their own development priorities while remaining in their approved ceilings and adopting guidelines of the Planning Commission and Finance Division. Emphasis has been placed on completion of on-going priority projects during 2012-13. New un-approved projects were discouraged as they may cause thin spread resource allocation resulting in time/cost overrun. It was ensured that Foreign Assistance is not underestimated. In the total proposed PSDP 2012-13, the size of FA has been estimated at Rs100 billion.
During 2012-13, 262 projects are likely to be completed as per following details:
11. Sectoral allocations for 2012-13 as compared to current year are as under:
The size of GDP (mp) has been estimated at Rs 20.7 trillion or $ 232 billion. Total investment as a percentage of GDP will be at 12.5 percent during the current fiscal year, slightly lower than the revised estimates of 13 percent during the last year mainly due to reduction in the national savings from 13.1 percent to 10.8 percent during the same period. On the external front, exports and imports have been estimated at around $ 25 billion and $ 40 billion, respectively with current account balance of negative 1.7 percent. Tax revenue during the period July-April, 2011-12 is Rs 1246 billion, while workers remittances stands at $ 10.8 billion during the same period. Inflation during July-April 2011-12 has been maintained at 10.8 percent against 13.8 percent during the corresponding period last year. Inflation during 2012-13 will be further brought down to 9.5 percent.
9. The position of on-going and new projects in PSDP 2012-13 is as under:
FBR freezes Mobilink’s bank accounts MONITORING DESK Federal Board of Revenue, authority responsible for collection of taxes, has attached all bank accounts of Mobilink, while blocking all imports for the company, said a statement issued by FBR today. Statement said Pakistan Mobile Communication Ltd (Mobilink) owed Rs. 8.6 billion to the exchequer on account of mis-declaration of Sales Tax and FED, for which Mobilink had appealed the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal for a hold. However, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal recently upheld the decision of LTU, Islamabad and confirmed the payable tax amount of 8.6 billion rupees. On receiving the decision of the Tribunal, Syed Ijaz Hussain, Chief Commissioner, LTU, Islamabad formed various teams of officers headed by Commissioner, LTU, Malik Muhammad Ashraf to recover the amount from the company through attachment of Bank accounts, blocking of imports and recovery through suppliers of the company, which include other telecom companies as well as the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority. Mobilink said that it is in process of evaluating the situation, and their clarification on the development will come in a while. We will update the story when we get any word from Mobilink. Sources close to FBR said that authority will now de-attach accounts only after recovering taxes and owed funds from Mobilink. FBR had carried out a similar operation for collection of taxes from PTA last year. FBR statement confirmed that, as of today, all Bank Accounts of the Company have been attached and imports blocked accordingly. FBR will take any further action on next working day, the statement said. Mobilink’s Viewpoint on the Matter: Responding to FBR’s action, Pakistan Mobile Communications Limited (Mobilink) has clarified that the FBR’s ruling on Sales Tax and FED is sub-judice. Mobilink in its statement said that company is one of the largest corporate tax payers in Pakistan, and has always remained at the forefront of making its due contribution to the nation’s exchequer. Mobilink said that it paid PKR 34 billion as taxes in 2011 alone. “Over its 17 year history of operations, Mobilink has remained committed to Pakistan, and respectful of all laws, including tax laws, which govern over Pakistan”, Mobilink’s statement concluded.
It’s payback time! Well kind of… Pakistan ‘successfully’ repays $2.53b to external debtors, including IMF g Some $809mn repaid to IMF in two installments under SBA g Second installment of $394m paid to the Fund on May 25 g Around $1.52b cleared under other miscellaneous heads g Multilateral inflows, remittances jack up dollar reserves by $207 million to $16.311b g C/A gap widens to $3.39b against $466mn surplus in FY11 g Remittances up by 20pc to $10.877b in July-OctoberFY12 g
KARACHI ISMAIL DILAWAR
The dollar-hungry country has “successfully” repaid around $ 2.53 billion during the current fiscal year until May 18. These repayments are inclusive of $ 809 million the country paid in two different installments to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the 2008’s $ 11.3 billion, but half-paid, Stand-By Arrangement (SBA). What comforts the central bank is the fact that despite recent servicing of the country’s huge external debts, which have accumulated to around $ 62 billion, the country’s dollar
reserves surged by $ 207 million. According to central bank, the gross foreign exchange reserves of the country increased to $16.311 billion up to in the week that ended on May 18 against $16.104 billion of the previous week. The State Bank’s holdings of the greenback swelled by $152 million to $11.936 billion during the review week compared to last week’s $11.784 billion. The commercial banks held up to $4.375 billion against $4.319 billion, the central bank said. “The rise in the reserves is due to some multilateral inflows and remittances,” viewed Syed Wasimuddin, the
SBP chief spokesman. Receipts from the multilaterals, the spokesman said, amounted to $94 million during the current month, up to May 18. Wasimuddin said up to May 18 of FY12 Pakistan had repaid debts worth $2.53 billion, inclusive of $ 809 million to IMF, and other miscellaneous payments of $1.52 billion. The receipts from multilaterals and others, however, remained lower at $ 1.21 billion. The country, the SBP spokesman said, had made the first installment under the IMF’s SBA facility of $399 million in the week ending on February
24 (2012). Whereas the second installment of $394 million was also “successfully” paid to the Fund on 25th of current month. Wasimuddin also contradicted some media reports that the State Bank had been aggressively buying dollars from the market to make the SBA repayment to the IMF. “The central bank has not been conducting any purchases from the market in the recent weeks, including the current week, and the movement in exchange rate has been somewhat sentiment-driven rather than any excessive demand and supply mismatches
prevailing in the market,” he clarified. Adding: “The State Bank is watching the situation closely”. During the first 10 months of current fiscal year, ranging from July to October FY12, the dollar inflows remitted by overseas Pakistanis rose by 20.2 percent to $ 10.877 billion. This helped the Balance of Payments despite widening of trade deficit, he said. Whereas the country’s current account deficit widened beyond $ 3.39 billion against last year’s surplus of $ 466 million, the workers remittances appeared as the only comforting item on the Balance of Payment list.
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Friday, 25 May, 2012
news
Petroleum Ministry steps on the gas Maximum limit for gas cess proposed to successfully under take gas import projects g Petroleum minister terms OGRA rudderless body trying to undermine the govt g
ISLAMABAD
A
AMER SIAL
FTER concluding two gas pipeline import agreements and possibility of Liquefied Natural Gas import being intensely worked out, the Petroleum Ministry has sought imposition of gas infrastructure development cess at the maximum limit to generate funds for laying completely new gas infrastructure for transmitting the imported gas to the national transmission network. An official source said that the Petroleum Ministry has sought hike in gas cess on the fertilizer sector from present level of Rs 197 per mmBTU to Rs 300 per mmBTU, CNG in region one from Rs 144 to Rs 300 mmBTU and in region two from Rs 79 to Rs 200 mmBTU, industrial sector Rs 13 to Rs 100 mmBTU, GENCOs and KESC from Rs 27 to Rs 100 per mmBTU and IPPs from Rs 70 to Rs 100 per mmBTU. The government had imposed gas cess from the start of the current calendar year. It was to be used for developing new gas infrastructure and subsidizing the alternate fuels to shift the energy mix that has become overtly reliant on the low cost natural
gas. It was estimated to generate Rs 16 to 18 billion during the last two quarters of the current fiscal year. However, the target is unlikely to be met due to extreme gas shortage during the last winter season. The government was aiming to generate close to Rs 40 billion per annum from the cess to offer as col-
lateral to the banks agreeing to finance estimated Rs 120 billion Iran Pakistan gas pipeline infrastructure and Rs 100 billion dedicated LNG transmission pipeline form Karachi port to power houses in Punjab. Petroleum Minister Dr. Asim Hussain confirmed that they have sought imposition of the gas cess at
the maximum limit as it was one of the options available to timely lay the much need gas pipeline infrastructure. He said the gas cess was not part of the finance bill and will be imposed after approval from the government. He said the government will be deciding to which limit the cess will be increased even though the ministry has recommended hiking it to maximum limited. The minister said the increase was necessary to change the energy mix and to allow introduction of other fuels, as only hydrocarbons along could not meet the rising energy requirements. Coal and hydel must be exploited to generate more power from these resources. When asked that Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has determined a decrease in gas prices from July 1, 2012 what will be its impact on the cess. An infuriated minister termed OGRA a rudderless body trying to subvert the government’s attempts to change the energy mix. The minister said he will be writing a complaint letter to the Prime Minister mentioning the flouting of the government’s policy decisions by the OGRA authorities. They are ruining the attempts of the government to put the sector in the right direction.
Learning Eastern European tricks of the trade g
Ukraine to open trading house in Pakistan ISLAMABAD ONLINE
Ukraine would open Trading House in Pakistan to imnprove bilateral business ties with Pakistan. This has been stated Ukrainian Ambassador, Alexander Ivanchuk while leading a delegation at Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FPCCI) on Thursday. Tariq Sayeed, founder and former President SAARC CCI and former President of FPCCI welcomed the visit of a large Ukrainian delegation at the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry Head Office, as a follow-up to the FPCCI’s own delegation to Ukraine in December last year on the initiative of our Ambassador to Ukraine, Saleem Mela. The delegation was visiting FPCCI to ink a MoU on the establishment of the Pakistan Ukraine Joint Business Council. The delegates were accompanied by Volodymyr Lakomov, the Ambassador of Ukraine to Pakistan, and Saleem Mela, the Ambassador of Pakistan to Ukraine. While speaking on the occasion, Tariq Sayeed said that both Ukraine and Pakistan forms a trade market of over $200 billion. The volume of trade,
however, was unfortunately between $125 million$175 million, which is below 0.25 percent of the total trade of both countries with the rest of the world. He mentioned the following reasons for the low level of trade include limited range of items, language barrier, no banking facility, and inadequate follow-up of government decisions. To remove these bottlenecks, he proposed the following measures that include an exchange of fact finding missions, establishment of commercial sections in the diplomatic missions of both countries, reciprocal establishment of the representative offices of both national chambers, elimination of NTBs and progress towards greater trade liberalization through signing a PTA. He praised both the Ambassadors for their very active role in making this visit possible. He also lauded the appointment of former Vice PresidentFPCCI, Engineer M.A. Jabbar, as the Honorary Consul General of Ukraine in Karachi, saying that this was very appropriate decision. He said that Engr. Jabbar will contribute more towards furthering PakUkraine trade. The leader of the delegation, Alexander Ivanchuk, who is President of the Ukraine Pakistan
Business Council and Counselor of Ukraine Chambers of Commerce & Industry, said that a trading House is desired to be set-up by a consortium of Ukrainian companies preferably in the Export Processing Zone. This will serve not only as the representative office of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industries (UCCI) but will also connect businessmen of both the countries to promote the export interests of each other. Earlier, while welcoming the Ukrainian delegation, Shiekh Shakil Ahmed Dhingra, the Acting President of FPCCI expressed his pleasure at the inauguration of the Joint Business Council as a forum that would allow both countries to achieve greater ease in conducting trade. Engr. M.A. Jabbar said that we are witnessing history in the making because this was the first delegation from Ukraine, which was visiting Pakistan after independence of Ukraine in 1991. We have witnessed the strong desire of both sides to do business as an outcome of the visit. This stand alone would suffice to say that a way forward assuring better prospects for both side businessmen exist to enter into trade regime of 250 billion US dollars available in both countries.
SECP swings into action g
Takes action against companies’ directors, auditors ISLAMABAD ONLINE
In order to safeguard the investors' interests, the Enforcement Department of the SECP took various regulatory and punitive actions during March and April. The department ordered inspection of books and accounts of four companies. The inspection had become necessary because of adverse audit opinions from statutory auditors, unlawful inter-corporate financing, non-cooperation on part of company in response to the SECP’s call for information or non-confirmation of the balances of assets and liabilities of concerned companies. Taking notice of abuse of powers by directors of a listed company, the department passed penal orders. The directors had approved an arrangement with an associated company and indulged in making huge unauthorized donations in utter disregard to the legal requirements regarding quorum and disclosure of interest. In another case the SECP imposed penalty on directors of the company for renting out companyowned premises to its associated company without following quorum requirements laid down in the law and for failing to recover timely rentals. Another company was penalized for providing unauthorized loans to the associates. Two companies were found guilty of misstating the accounts for which a fine was imposed on both companies. Furthermore, penalties were imposed on the statutory auditors of 13 unlisted companies for failing to act in conformity with the statutory requirements. The audit reports issued did not bring out material facts about the affairs of companies. Besides imposing fines, the auditors were advised to discharge their responsibilities with due professionalism, giving an independent and objective opinion on financial statements of the companies. The details of action taken against the auditors were also shared with Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan. In a related development, the SECP has directed all the non-listed companies, designated as Economically Significant Companies under the 1984 Companies Ordinance to appoint a chartered accountant firm as external auditor holding a satisfactory rating under the Quality Control Review Program of the ICAP, w.e.f. the financial year beginning on or after July 1, 2012. The department actively oversees the transactions relating to substantial acquisition of shares of companies. In this regard, the proceedings were initiated against the acquirer of a company in cement sector, which failed to comply with the requirements of Takeovers Ordinance. One of the directors of the said company also filed a complaint in the High Court on similar grounds. After detailed analysis and keeping in view the consent order of High Court, the SECP directed the acquirer to conduct fresh valuation of the company, by a valuer duly registered with the Pakistan Bankers Association.
EU urges Greece to stay in euro, plans for possible exit BRUSSELS REUTERS
European Union leaders, advised by senior officials to prepare contingency plans in case Greece decides to quit the single currency, urged the country to stay the course on austerity and complete the reforms demanded under its bailout program. After nearly six hours of talks held during an informal dinner, leaders said they were committed to Greece remaining in the euro zone, but it had to stick to its side of the bargain too, a commitment that will mean a heavy cost for Greeks. "We want Greece to stay in the euro, but we insist that Greece sticks to commitments that it has agreed to," German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters after a Wednesday evening summit in Brussels dragged long into the night. Three officials told Reuters the instruction to have plans in place for a Greek exit was agreed on Monday during a teleconference of the Eurogroup Work-
ing Group (EWG) - experts who work for euro zone finance ministers. The Greek finance ministry denied there was any such agreement but Belgian Finance Minister Steven Vanackere, said: "All the contingency plans (for Greece) come back to the same thing: to be responsible as a government is to foresee even what you hope to avoid." Two other senior EU officials confirmed the call and its contents, saying contingency planning was only sensible. In its monthly report, Germany's Bundesbank said the situation in Greece was "extremely worrying" and it was jeopardizing any further financial aid by threatening not to implement reforms agreed as part of its two bailouts. It said a euro exit would pose "considerable but manageable" challenges for its European partners, raising pressure on Athens to stick with its painful economic reforms. Greek officials have said that without outside funds, the country will run out of money within two months and there remains the threat that if it crashes out of
the euro zone, other member states could be brought down too. A document seen by Reuters detailed the potential costs to individual member states of a Greek exit and said that if it came about, an "amiable divorce" should be sought with the EU and IMF possibly giving up to 50 billion euros to ease its path. Although EU leaders' minds will have been focused by that prospect, disagreements have flared over a plan for mutual euro zone bond issuance and other measures to alleviate two years of debt turmoil, such as giving countries like Spain an extra year to make the spending cuts demanded of them. "The idea is to put energy into the growth motor. All the member countries don't necessarily share my ideas. But a certain number expressed themselves in the same direction," new French President Francois Hollande told reporters. For the first time in more than two years of crisis summits, the leaders of France and Germany did not huddle beforehand to agree positions, marking a
significant shift in the axis which has traditionally driven European policymaking. Instead, Hollande met Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in Paris to discuss policy, before the pair travelled to Brussels by train. Despite fears Greeks could open the departure door if they vote for anti-bailout parties at a June 17 election, Spain, where the economy is in recession and the banking system in need of restructuring, is at the front line of the crisis. After meeting Hollande, Rajoy said he had no intention of seeking outside aid for Spain's banks, which are laden with bad debts from a property boom that bust and still has some way to go before it touches bottom. But his government said its rescue of problem lender Bankia would cost at least 9 billion euros and it is also seeking ways to help its highly indebted regions meet huge refinancing bills. SHIFTING SANDS: Socialist Hollande's election victory has significantly changed the terms of the debate in Europe, with his call for greater emphasis on growth rather
than debt-cutting now a rallying cry for other leaders. That has set up a showdown with conservative Merkel, whose primary objective is budget austerity and structural reform. At his first EU summit, Hollande chose to make a stand on euro bonds - issuing common euro zone debt - despite consistent German opposition to the idea. "I was not alone in defending euro bonds," he said. Merkel showed no sign of dropping her objections to the proposal, which she has said can only be discussed once there is much closer fiscal union in Europe. "There were differences in the exchange about euro bonds," she said bluntly. The Netherlands, Finland and some smaller euro zone member states support her. No major decisions were made at Wednesday's summit, which was intended to promote ideas on jobs and growth ahead of another meeting at the end of June. But debate was intense, not just over euro bonds but over how to rescue banks and whether to give more time to struggling euro zone countries to meet their budget deficit goals.
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news One mango milkshake for Uncle Sam please g
USAID-backed mango farms ready for exports KARACHI STAFF REPORT
Mango farmers across country continue their partnership with the USAID to maximize yields, improve product quality, introduce better packaging and create market linkages. All these advancements are helping Pakistani mango growers tap into new export markets with each passing season. As the mango season for 2012 begins, this partnership continues to bear fruit. “We are confident that with USAID’s support, all of the ground work has been done,” said Ghulam Sarwar Abro of Mustafa Agricultural Farms in Kotri (Sindh), who has been a partner with USAID’s Mango Program. “We have the required standards, infrastructure and linkages to tap the international markets on a competitive footing,” added the grower. Some seven mango farms from Sindh are already scheduled to send commercial shipments to high-end markets across the globe in June this year. More farms would participate in commercial shipments as soon as harvesting begins in Punjab. The USAID has signed Infrastructure Upgrade Agreements (IUAs) with 15 mango farmers across Pakistan on a costsharing basis to build pack houses. The USAID has also provided assistance to 15 farmers in achieving GlobalG.A.P. certification under a similar cost-share agreement and has planned to increase this number by the end of this season by adding another 12 certified farms.
Fidelity facing ‘thousands’ hit by Facebook woes
Major Gainers Company
Open
High
Low
Close
Change
Turnover
Bata (Pak) Limited Mithchells Fruit Shezan Inter. Colgate Palmolive Wyeth Pak Limited
620.97 236.76 202.93 950.00 819.00
639.00 248.59 213.07 970.00 850.00
630.00 248.00 212.00 950.00 810.00
636.36 248.46 213.07 957.00 824.00
15.39 11.70 10.14 7.00 5.00
57 594 71,865 52 492
BOSTON
F
REUTERS
IDELITY Investments said it was working with "thousands" of brokerage clients affected by trading issues that have engulfed Facebook Inc's much-anticipated initial public offering, according to a source familiar with the situation. The social media site's IPO has been steeped in controversy since it started trading last Friday. Almost a week later, many investors have found that their orders for Facebook were not executed at the prices they thought, said advisers, who declined to be identified because they are not allowed to speak to the press. All Facebook stock trades in clients' accounts from May 18 have been confirmed, a Fidelity spokesman said. "On behalf of our customers, Fidelity's senior management has been working with the regulators, market makers and NASDAQ to represent all of our customer's trading issues from May 18, and we will continue to do so until we are confident that NASDAQ has done everything it can to mitigate the impact to our customers," the spokesman said. Nasdaq had all orders, executed or not, returned to member firms by 1:50 p.m. EDT (1750 GMT) on Friday, according to a trading alert issued by the exchange on Monday morning. Fidelity, a mutual fund company that also runs a large brokerage, issued a special notice to customers who submitted orders to buy Facebook shares on Friday, saying they may have experienced delays in status updates. "We realize that some customers still have questions about how these delays may have af-
Major Losers Unilever FoodXD UniLever PakXD Pak.Int.Cont SD Philip Morris Pak. Island Textile fected their trading activity," Fidelity said in the notice. "We understand that Nasdaq is working with federal regulators to determine what, if any, accommodation might be made. However, customers should assume that any shares of Facebook stock currently credited to their accounts are owned by them and available for trading." SEEKING RESOLUTION: Facebook's IPO did not go as planned as its sky-high valuation, combined with trading glitches, left the stock languishing below its offering price. Fidelity said Facebook order glitches were an industrywide issue that affected many different brokerdealers. "We will continue to work with the industry to get NASDAQ to come to a resolution that addresses the concerns of our customers," Fidelity said in the notice. Fidelity was not immediately available to comment on the extent of customer issues related to the Facebook IPO. Boston-based Fidelity has 18.3 million brokerage accounts and reported nearly 396,000 average daily commissionable trades in the first quarter. Most of that activity centered on personal investing. Facebook's shares gained a penny to $32.01 in midday trading on Thursday.
3090.00 7200.00 160.28 144.00 194.03
3090.00 7230.00 159.00 143.99 190.00
3000.00 7060.00 152.27 139.00 190.00
3000.00 7113.29 152.68 139.46 190.00
17.90 16.05 42.19 4.34 17.19
16.90 15.27 40.70 3.52 16.39
17.77 15.82 41.37 4.22 16.49
-90.00 -86.71 -7.60 -4.54 -4.03
33 18 7,874 4,563 1
0.53 -0.20 -0.55 0.68 -0.42
16,878,509 15,676,232 14,968,563 14,702,434 11,958,473
Volume Leaders Bank Al-Falah P.T.C.L.A D.G.K.Cement TRG Pakistan Ltd. Jah.Sidd. Co.
17.24 16.02 41.92 3.54 16.91
Interbank Rates US Dollar UK Pound Japanese Yen Euro
91.9837 144.6076 1.1579 116.2766
Dollar East US Dollar Euro Great Britain Pound Japanese Yen Canadian Dollar Hong Kong Dollar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal
Buy
Sell
93.00 116.06 144.97 1.1593 89.78 11.81 25.21 24.71
93.60 117.45 146.68 1.1728 91.34 12.01 25.48 24.95
CORPORATE CORNER CGMA report reveals gap in rhetoric, reality on business ethics KARACHI: Four out of five businesses worldwide have committed to ethical performance, but rhetoric does not always match reality, according to a new report from the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). The report found a weakened “tone from the top” and more pressure on financial professionals – especially in emerging economies — to act unethically. Managing Responsible Business , a global survey of almost 2,000 Chartered Global Management Accountants ( CGMA ) in nearly 80 countries, found that 80 per cent of organisations provide a code of ethics to guide employees about ethical standards in their work, up from 72 percent in 2008. However, only 36 per cent collect ethics information such as the number of employees attending ethics training and actions taken on hotline reports. Since ethical performance can only be managed with the right information, this suggests ethical practice falls short of stated poli cy, according to the report. What’s more, neither senior management nor boards of directors seem to be reviewing, analyzing and monitoring ethics information at the level recorded four years ago. In 2008, 86 per cent of senior management and 68 percent of boards reviewed ethics data, according to the report. In 2012, it was 78 per cent and 56 per cent, respectively. This “weakened tone from the top” comes as more than a third of those surveyed, 35 per cent, said they sometimes or always feel pressured to compromise their organisation’s standards of ethical conduct. This compares to 28 per cent of respondents in 2008. The pressure is most pronounced in developing economies such as Malaysia, 54 per cent, and India, 51 per cent, and lowest in the U.K. and U.S., where 18 per cent of those surveyed feel pressure. “Positive steps have been taken to build the architecture for ethics through codes and policies, but pressure to act unethically persists and companies across the globe continue to be faced with the challenge of strengthening ethical culture from the top,” said AICPA President and CEO Barry Melancon, CPA, CGMA. “CGMAs can play a key role in guiding companies in how to better collect and report ethical information by drawing on their training and understanding of professional ethics, as well as their skills in obtaining, analyzing and acting upon management information.” The report is a follow up to one conducted by CIMA in 2008 and is the first time responses from the U.S. have been included. Geography and company size are key factors in the findings, with larger companies from more developed economies generally having more advanced ethics programs. U.S. companies, for instance, are most likely to monitor or evaluate ethical standards, according to the report.
Senior PTCL officers celebrate the One Million Broadband customers mark
ISLAMABAD: Telecom giant, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), celebrated its one million Broadband customers mark at the commemoration of World Telecommunication and Information Society day at Pak-China Friendship Centre, Islamabad. Senior PTCL officials gathered at the occasion and a special cake designed to mark the One million Broadband customers was cut jointly, marking the solidarity and unity of Pakistan’s largest telecommunications service provider. “PTCL plans to reach 5 million customers mark in the next five years. We know it is a huge challenge, but we have the capability and technical potential to rise to this challenge”, SEVP Commercial PTCL, Naveed Saeed.
Pizza Hut inks agreement with Centaurus Mall
tered into sale purchase agreement and renegotiated its contract with two refineries namely BYCO Petroleum and PARCO and one local fuel oil blender ie Bakri Trading Company. This initiative will benefit the national economy by reducing the nation’s dependence on imported oil products, reduce foreign exchange expenditure, encourage foreign investment in the domestic energy sector and maximize local refineries’ through-put. In the recent agreements signed by the company, the payment modalities will involve PSO opening Letters of Credit (LC’s) for its suppliers. However, this arrangement can only be sustained if back to back LC’s from the power entities are ensured to PSO so that the payment cycle in the energy sector is streamlined and accumulation of further debt is minimized. PSO takes pride in playing a proactive part in the energy supply value chain and await the remaining stakeholders to come forward to ensure success of this endeavor in the best interest of the nation.
RAK Free Trade Zone visits Pakistan to attract investors KARACHI: Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone (RAK FTZ) is currently visiting Pakistan with an agenda to attract Pakistani businessmen to Ras Al Khaimah. Pakistan is the third biggest market for RAK FTZ, and the free zone is looking to improve and succeed even more by demonstrating complete dedication to the region. To achieve this, RAK FTZ is conducting a series of road shows and seminars in Pakistan. The first
show will be held today and tomorrow (May 22 and May 23) at Marriott Hotel in Karachi. The purpose of these road shows is to showcase RAK FTZ as the ‘home of Pakistani businesses’, where one can invest and benefit from packages that offer residence visa, eligibility for a bank account in the UAE, peace, security, stability, 100% business ownership, 100% taxfree income, and room for growth and success. Commenting on the business prospects in Ras Al Khaimah for Pakistanis, Oussama El Omari, CEO of RAK FTZ, stated, “At RAK FTZ, we have always supported pro-investment policies that are firmly rooted in the principles of free trade and promoting entrepreneurship. Through these road shows and seminars all around Pakistan, we are looking at establishing and nurturing strong business contacts with Pakistani entrepreneurs and companies. The cost effectiveness of setting up business at RAK FTZ, coupled with value-added services and easy access to do business with neighbouring regions are our salient advantages that are unmatched in the region.” With minimum amount of paperwork requirement, Pakistani entrepreneurs can avail this grand opportunity and set-up their businesses at RAK FTZ, as it is one of the most cost-effective free zones in the UAE. RAK FTZ Marketing Representative Omar Ul Haq comments, “RAK FTZ has planned several activities in Pakistan, and RAK FTZ is certainly worth a closer look for a majority of start-ups and existing Pakistani businesses. We are conducting these road shows and seminars to create awareness and to enable Pakistani businessmen, entrepreneurs and investors to benefit from the products and services available at RAK FTZ.”
ISLAMABAD: An agreement was signed between PakGulf Construction Pvt Limited and MCR Pvt Limited for the opening of Pizza Hut at the Centaurus Mall. The signing ceremony took place at The Centaurus’ sales and marketing suite, here in Islamabad. Mr. Rasikh Ismail, Group Deputy COO of MCR Pvt Ltd that operates Pizza Hut in Pakistan was present to sign off on the agreement. During the ceremony, President PGCL, Mr. Sardar Tanvir Ilyas Khan said, “We feel extremely proud that The Centaurus Mall is a place of preference for world class restaurant operators. With exciting restaurant chains like Pizza Hut, The Centaurus Mall shall become the most visited destination for all.”
PSO to maximise product uplift from local sources, refineries KARACHI: As part of the new vision, PSO has embarked on a mission to strengthen the petroleum products’ supply line by maximizing fuel upliftment from local refineries aand local fuel oil blenders. In the pursuit of this objective, the company has recently en-
BAGHDAD: Qatar Airways Senior Vice President GCC, Levant, Iraq, Iran and Indian subcontinent Fathi Al Shehab, left, with Erbil International Airport Director Talar Faiq celebrating the airline's new services to Iraq.